


Ghosts of the Ice Castle

by PaintingWithWords (paint_with_words)



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Angst, Character's Name Spelled as Viktor, Gen, Halloween, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2019-01-27 16:07:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12585596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paint_with_words/pseuds/PaintingWithWords
Summary: Yuri goes to the Ice Castle to talk to old friends.  This is set many years after the events of the first season of Yuri On Ice.





	Ghosts of the Ice Castle

**Author's Note:**

> This fic contains MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH, but it's in the past and it's non-graphic. However, if this isn't your cup of tea, then surf on. This is the only fic set in this particular universe, so you won't see major character death again in my other fics. Also, I can't believe my first Yuri On Ice fic isn't smut. *hangs head in shame*

Yuri climbed the steps leading up to the Ice Castle and sighed, trying to ignore the lump in his throat and the twisting sensation in his stomach. He could feel tears threatening to betray the truth of what lay behind his defensive scowl, and he fought even harder to maintain his grim demeanor. It had been almost five years since he’d last set foot in Hasetsu, and he never thought to be back here again. And yet, at Yuuko’s urging, here he was. 

The years had not been kind to the Ice Castle. It looked like the general maintenance work hadn’t been done in quite some time. The exterior paint was fading and had even cracked and peeled in a few places. The chain around the doors and the padlock, however, were shiny and new, completely out of place with the rest of the old building. He presumed the Japanese characters on the sign taped up inside the door read ‘CLOSED’, or something to that effect. The local population didn’t have much need for English.

He fished the key Yuuko had given him out of his back pocket, opened the lock, and put it in one of the pockets of his coat. With hands that felt like lead, he pulled the heavy chain free of the doors and unceremoniously dropped it on the concrete. Taking a deep and calming breath, he pulled the door open and walked inside.

If anything, the interior looked even worse than the exterior. What he could see of it, anyway. Most of the rink was dark and in shadow, but the faint glow of safety lights and exit signs cast an eerie, almost otherworldly glow inside the building. He was actually surprised they hadn’t already cut the power, considering what they were going to do to the place next week. The carpeted areas were dingy and threadbare in some parts, and the high windows over the ice itself were in desperate need of a good cleaning. He had the sudden feeling that he was some kind of interloper, like he had stepped out of the world he knew and into a realm where he wasn’t entirely welcome. He’d never really felt comfortable in the Ice Castle, but now the feeling of intrusion was almost tangible, as though he could reach out and touch it, as if it were a physical thing. Or maybe it was just his imagination. Perhaps it was the weight of what he had to do that was pressing down on him, making him feel ill at ease. Well, he should make it quick then.

Initially, Yuri had planned to march into the Ice Castle, bellow at the both of them, and march back out again and be done with it. Quick and simple. That was how he’d pictured it happening in his mind, anyway. But now, standing here again, so many memories came flooding back. He could almost see a younger, shorter version of himself grumbling at Viktor, or berating Yuuri for flubbing yet another jump. Oh, what he would give to be able to fuss at them again, just one more time…

Viktor and Yuuri had been happy here. They’d fallen in love here. The Ice Castle had been their home, in a manner of speaking. There was no way he could just go in and scream at them like the angry child he’d once been. Or could he, for old time’s sake?

Before he could think better of it, Yuri strode up to the barrier and gripped the railing with both hands. Tossing his hair over his shoulder, he drew in a deep breath and screamed across the ice like he had so many years before.

“VIKTOR! KATSUDON!” he cried at the top of his lungs, “I KNOW YOU’RE HERE, AND I NEED THE TWO OF YOU TO LISTEN TO ME!”

He cringed as his own voice echoed back at him, shrill and pleading. A sudden chill passed through him, sending shivers down his spine. He had the distinct feeling that he wasn’t alone, like someone was standing right in front of him, out there on the ice… So, maybe the stories coming out of here were true. Maybe they really had come back here after all. 

“Yuuko asked me to come here because she thought you’d be more likely to listen to me,” he murmured as he leaned on the railing. “I know you came back here because this is where the two of you were happy and fell in love. That time you had together, just the two of you? I’m glad you had it.”

Yuri took a shaky breath and closed his eyes. It felt like Viktor was standing right in front of him on the ice, listening to him speak. And he’d swear Yuuri was there, too, right beside Viktor, just letting him say what he needed to say. They’d done that for him so many times, and it was so easy to believe that they were here, doing it for him again. But they weren’t here, not really, and it wasn’t fair, and life sucked. He gripped the rail and looked down, letting his hair fall over his face like a protective veil, hiding the tears sliding down his face. He could feel something coming loose inside of him, as if the wall he’d built over the years to hold back all the grief and sorrow broke and everything came spilling out in a rush.

“Look, I know you two didn’t have anywhere near long enough. Seven years? That’s it? That’s bullshit. And it sucks that you didn’t get more. But… it’s more than a lot of people get. Some people never get to fall in love at all. At least you had it, you know? That’s… that’s something.” 

“Listen, you two have to move on to whatever comes after this life, okay? It’s not good to stay here and cling to the memory of what you once had because you weren’t ready to let go or you’re afraid that you’ll never have anything that good again. You found each other once, and I believe you can find each other again.”

Yuri bit his trembling lower lip, gathering his courage, hating what he had to say next.

“They’re going to tear down the Ice Castle,” he whispered, barely to speak around the lump in his throat. “They’re going to build a new rink here, with all this state-of-the-art bullshit. They’re going to tear this place down, so you need to move on, okay?”

He opened his eyes and gazed through his tears over the ice, looking for… for what, precisely? Some kind of sign, some kind of physical proof, that they really were here with him right now and it wasn’t his goddamn imagination or wishful thinking that made him think they were? What did he expect to see? A ghostly image? A translucent figure silently gliding from one side of the rink to the other? Phantom scrapes appearing across the ice from a skater that wasn’t there? 

Yuri stood there in for several minutes, blinking back tears and letting his eyes adjust to the gloom, searching for anything, any sign, of them. But all he got was silence and shadows. With a sigh, he let go of the rail, ran his fingers through his hair, and stuck his hands in his coat pockets. It was time to go. He had done what he needed to do, said what he needed to say. Now it remained to be seen if they would take his words to heart, if they were even here at all.

“Goodbye, Viktor. Goodbye, Yuuri. Maybe I’ll be lucky enough to know you again in whatever comes after this life. I’m glad I got to know you in this one, even if it wasn’t long enough.” Yuri was halfway to the doors when the sound system hissed to life and the melancholy strains of “Stammi Vicino” crackled out of the speakers, full of static. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, and slowly he turned around, eager and afraid all at the same time. 

He saw them on the ice, skating together like they had so many years ago in Barcelona, gazing at each other like there was no one else in the entire world. They seemed to glow with an inner light, Yuuri’s luminous blue and Viktor’s radiant purple dancing together with such love and devotion it brought tears to his eyes all over again. He watched them circle one another on the ice, and heard the soprano’s final plea, _“Partiamo insieme,”_ and the tenor’s answering call, _“Ora sono pronto.”_

Then, as suddenly as it had started, it was over. The speakers died and Viktor and Yuuri faded away, as though they had never been there. Yuri was left standing there, looking out over the empty ice, with tears streaming down his face once more.

“Thank you,” he whispered into the silence and turned to leave.

As he walked out of the Ice Castle, Yuri felt a sudden gust of wind catch the door, whistling through the trees, and he swore he heard someone say, “Goodbye, Yurio.” 

“That’s still not my name,” he whispered, the ghost of a smile playing across his face.

**Author's Note:**

> The last two lines of “Stammi Vicino”:
> 
> Soprano:  
> Partiamo insieme (Let's leave together)
> 
> Tenor:  
> Ora sono pronto (I’m ready now)
> 
> Thank you for reading, and Happy Halloween! As always, comments & kudos are appreciated. Say hello on [tumblr](http://paintingwithwords.tumblr.com) if you're so inclined. :-) 
> 
> You can read more of my fics [here](http://archiveofourown.org/users/paint_with_words/works).


End file.
